Neighbor of Three Young Sisters Allegedly Killed by Their Father Recalls Final Conversation with the Suspect

One of the last people to speak with Travis Decker before he vanished with his three young daughters has shared unsettling details about the father’s demeanor in the hours before the tragedy.

Travis is accused of tying up and suffocating his children — Paityn, nine, Evelyn, eight, and five-year-old Olivia. Their bodies were found at a remote campsite in Washington state on Monday. The last time neighbor Nguyen saw Travis was Friday evening.

The father of three had come to pick up the girls when Nguyen recalled that something seemed off. “He had a sad look,” Nguyen told the Daily Mail on Wednesday. He said he was in his backyard when Travis arrived. They exchanged casual greetings, but the conversation quickly turned strange when he asked him how he was doing.

“He said ‘fine’ and then he asked me how I was doing,” Nguyen said. “But what was strange was that he kept asking me the same question, at different points in our conversation. Like he wasn’t remembering he already asked.”

When Nguyen asked what Travis was doing for work, he said he had been taking construction jobs out of state. At 5 p.m., Travis left with the girls and he was supposed to return with them by 8 p.m. That deadline passed and the girls were not yet home. That’s when their mother, Whitney Decker reported them missing later that night.

According to Nguyen, when Travis first moved into the neighborhood, he saw a man who appeared disciplined and focused. Travis was clean-shaven and well-built. Nguyen later learned that Travis had served in the military and joined the National Guard.

To those living nearby, the Decker family seemed content. Nguyen didn’t suspect anything unusual until one disturbing moment stood out. He recalled seeing Whitney wearing a sling for a broken arm while her husband had a bruised and swollen face.

Nguyen asked Travis about the swelling and he blamed it on allergies. The response seemed evasive, but Nguyen said nothing more at the time. Though he knew Travis used marijuana, Nguyen said he had no reason to believe there were deeper issues involving drugs or mental health.

Later, Nguyen noticed Travis’ absence from the home. Curious, he approached Whitney to ask how her husband was doing and her answer was blunt. “She said she can’t work it out, that he’s crazy and he beat me,” Nguyen recalled.

He then explained that Whitney told him they had divorced and Travis had moved out. At one point, he was reportedly homeless and living out of his truck in the mountains. Over time, Nguyen began to notice changes in Travis’ appearance during his visits to see the children.

The once clean-cut veteran looked different — unshaven, thinner, with long hair and a disheveled look. The transformation was hard to ignore.

Before news of the tragedy became public, Nguyen had sensed something was wrong. Over the weekend, he received a message from Whitney. She asked if he could get someone to move a car parked outside her house. Her request came with a troubling reason: “In case Travis comes.”

Nguyen assured her it wouldn’t happen again, but Whitney clarified, “Just not till the girls come home please.” The wording gave him pause. The next morning, Nguyen messaged again. He thought he had heard a man’s voice outside and asked if it might have been Travis.

Whitney replied that it wasn’t, adding a sad emoji. Nguyen speculated that Travis might be stranded in the mountains to which Whitney said there was a chance as helicopters were being deployed. Still unaware of the grim discovery, Nguyen checked in again the next day, asking if there was any update.

That’s when Whitney delivered the devastating news: the girls’ bodies had been found and Travis was missing. Nguyen said his tears began to fall immediately. He asked how the girls had died. Whitney said she didn’t know yet.

As details emerged, a picture of Travis’s deteriorating mental state came into focus. According to court records, Travis had been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. Whitney told investigators she believed he was not taking medication for the condition.

He was also required to undergo mental health treatment and anger management as part of a court-ordered parenting plan. But documents indicated there was no sign he had followed through.

During divorce proceedings in September, Whitney described a man struggling to maintain control. His instability, she warned, was starting to impact their daughters. She told the court that Travis occasionally had the girls sleep overnight at an armory while he served in the National Guard — something she strongly opposed.

Whitney also described his unpredictable behavior. At times, Travis would burst into her home unannounced, yelling for the girls. On other occasions, he simply failed to pick them up, despite having promised to do so.

We previously reported that the bodies of three missing girls were discovered near Leavenworth in Chelan County, Washington, on Monday, June 2, 2025. Authorities identified their father, Travis 32, as the prime suspect in their deaths.

The victims were identified as Olivia, Evelyn, and Paityn Decker. The sisters were reported missing on Friday, May 30, after their father failed to return them to their mother following a “planned visitation.”

Initially, they were supposed to be returned to their mother by 8 p.m. as agreed. However, after 90 minutes had passed and the children still hadn’t returned, she decided to contact the police.

According to police, the bodies were found after investigators located Travis’ truck near the Rock Island Campground. The vehicle was unoccupied, and the girls’ bodies were found nearby.

Investigations have shown that the girls appeared to have been zip-tied, and their heads were hooded with plastic bags. The cause of death is believed to be asphyxiation.

Travis is now wanted on three counts of first-degree aggravated murder and three counts of first-degree kidnapping. Law enforcement officials caution that he may be armed and dangerous.

They also noted that Travis is a former member of the military with extensive training. The suspect was living in his truck, along with campsites and motels.

The investigation is ongoing, and anyone with information on the suspect’s whereabouts is urged to contact authorities immediately.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to support Whitney Decker, the grieving mother of the three girls. With a fundraising goal of $380,000, it has raised $332,556 in donations as of June 4, 2025.

The funds will help cover legal and burial expenses for the girls and ease the financial burden on Whitney as she takes time off work to grieve and give her children a proper farewell.